Kenya post-election violence kills more than 300

The violence was sparked by charges President Mwai Kibaki stole his way to re-election — even his elections chief was quoted Wednesday as saying he could not be sure who won.

The political rift quickly took on a tribal element in what has been one of Africa’s most stable democracies, with members of Kibaki’s Kikuyu tribe, long dominate in politics and business, under attack.

In one of the worst attacks, a mob set fire to a church Tuesday in a town about 185 miles (300 kilometers) northwest of Nairobi where Kikuyus had taken refuge. There were conflicting accounts about how many people died.

The Kenya Red Cross said in a statement it retrieved 17 bodies from the smoldering church, but other witnesses put the toll at up to 50.

The Red Cross said houses and “large parcels of land and crops have been burnt” in the area, and major roads were barricaded, making it difficult to deliver aid. Some displaced in Eldoret have not received food for three days, it said.

Government spokesman Alfred Mutua said: “Kenya is not burning and not at the throes of any division,” adding clashes had only affected about 3 percent of the country’s 34 million people.

Though much of Nairobi was quiet Wednesday aside from clashes in the Mathare slum, many fear things may get worse. Opposition leader Raila Odinga has said he will go ahead with plans to lead a “million man” protest march in the capital Thursday even though the government has banned it. The Kenya Human Rights Commission and the International Federation for Human Rights called for calm Thursday.

The Odinga and Kibaki camps have traded accusations the other is fueling ethnic violence.

“This is a time where people can’t stand on legalities or ceremony,” Michael E. Ranneberger, the U.S. Ambassador to Kenya, told British Broadcasting Corp. “This is a time where two of the greatest Kenyan patriots, the president and Raila Odinga, need to step forward and work out a practical way forward in the interest of the Kenyan people.”

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Wednesday he supported a mission to Kenya by African Union President John Kufuor, saying he had spoken to Kufuor, who also is president of Ghana, and that Kufuor would announce his visit later Wednesday. The AU’s spokeswoman Habiba Mejri-Cheikh said Kufuor was expected in Kenya Wednesday, but Kufuor’s press office said the leader had canceled the visit. The office gave no explanation.

The independent Kenya Human Rights Commission and the International Federation for Human Rights said in a joint statement more than 300 people had been killed since the Dec. 27 vote.

The U.N. cited Kenyan police as saying 70,000 people had been displaced in five days of violence. Around 5,400 people have also fled to neighboring Uganda, said Musa Ecweru, that country’s disaster preparedness minister. Several hundred people have also fled to Tanzania, officials there said.

Vice President Moody Awori said over a local television station the violence was costing the country US$31 million (euro21 million) a day. He gave no details, but many businesses have closed down during the unrest and some foreign governments have advised their citizens against travel to the usually tourist-friendly nation.

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